This invention relates to a film card camera comprising a camera housing, which is securable in a cantilever manner to a vertical column, a film card inlet, an exposure station, and a development station. Such a film card camera is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,269, incorporated herein by reference.
This invention further relates to a method for preparing and printing either original or duplicate film cards with silver film.
The film card camera according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,269 has only a single development station. Since the developing, fixing, and washing of exposed film requires a relatively long time, known film card cameras operate relatively slowly.
In order to expose and develop film cards quickly and in succession, DE-PS-3,245,333 has provided a film card camera with two development stations such that these two development stations are alternately supplied with exposed film cards. The development stations are positioned on both sides of the exposure station. Therefore, this film card camera is required to be relatively long in length. If a duplication station was additionally provided for this film card camera, then an even greater length would be necessary. Further, if this film card camera were to include four development stations, rather than two, then the length of the film card camera would be extended even further. This resultant increased length would then lead to difficulties in arranging lamps for illuminating the documents to be photocopied. Furthermore, the additional development stations and duplicating station would increase the weight of the film card camera. Since it is usually held in a height-adjustable, cantilever manner to a vertical column, the film card camera would project relatively far from the column. Therefore, the column would have to support a large angular force, resulting in difficulties.